Today at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Brett Ratner was on a panel for the National Geographic series Breakthrough. Ratner directed an episode of the series, focused on the human brain. After the panel, a few journalists approached Ratner for follow-ups and I asked him about the status of the Rush Hour franchise. Read More »

With Arnold Schwarzenegger doing press for Terminator Genisys, we now have an update on the Twins sequel which has been in the works since 2012. Writer-actor Josh Gad was hired to write the screenplay for Triplets, but said earlier this year that the project was now “on hold”. Arnold seems to think there is forward momentum and claims that Eddie Murphy “loves the idea” and wants to join the threequel as the third brother.

Last summer, Paramount announcedBeverly Hills Cop 4 alongside Transformers 5, G.I. Joe 3, and Hansel and Gretel 2. Brett Ratner was to direct, with Eddie Murphy returning to star as Axel Foley in a story that takes him back to Detroit.

The film was even given a release date, March 25, 2016, but we’ve heard very little about the film since then. No story, no casting, no shoot date. Now Paramount has scrubbed the Beverly Hills Cop 4 release date from the calendar, leaving the film in a sort of limbo. Just try not to cry all over your screen, OK? Salty tears leave awful smudges. Read More »

There really isn’t much Josh Gad can’t do. He’s a Tony-Award nominated stage performer, a dramatic actor, comedic actor, a voice actor and even a writer. On that last front, Gad has long been attached to co-write a sequel to the 1988 hit film, Twins. The film is called Triplets and would once again star Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as the unlikeliest of twin brothers. Except, this time, they’d find out they have a new brother, played by Eddie Murphy.

It’s a concept that seemingly has been floating around for years, but in a recent AMA Gad offered an update. He said the script, which he co-wrote with Ryan Dixon, is done but Universal has it on hold. Read Josh Gad’s Triplets movie update below. Read More »

In 2007, Eddie Murphy earned an Oscar nomination for his dramatic turn in Dreamgirls. In the years since then, he’s spent his time getting terrible reviews (Meet Dave, A Thousand Words), voicing a donkey (Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After), or planning sequels to old hits (Beverly Hills Cop 4, Triplets). But now it looks like he’s ready to get serious again.

Murphy is reportedly on board for Cook, directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy). He’s stepping in for Samuel L. Jackson, who was previously attached to star. Hit the jump for more on Eddie Murphy Cook role.

Briefly: Axel Foley is officially back. Paramount has set a March 25, 2016 release date for a new Beverly Hills Cop film, directed by Brett Ratner and starring Eddie Murphy. Little is known about the film except Jerry Bruckheimer is producing and Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) wrote the latest version of the script. [ERC Box Office]

Also, on the same day, Warner Bros. will open the 3D disaster film Geostorm, written and directed by Dean Devlin, starring Gerard Butler. [Deadline]

People under the age of 25 might be too young to remember what the names “Simpson/Bruckheimer” meant when appearing in front of a movie. With films like Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, Days of Thunder, Bad Boys, The Rock, odds were if Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson produced a movie in the Eighties or Nineties, it was awesome. After Simpson’s passing in 1996, Bruckheimer did his best to carry on the legacy. In recent years, he has faltered.

With one of Bruckheimer’s biggest films now delayed, the producer is turning his attention back to another franchise he helped create. Variety reports despite not having anything to do with Beverly Hills Cop III or the failed TV pilot, Bruckheimer is in talks to produce Beverly Hills Cop IV. He’s also still working on Top Gun 2 and developing Bad Boys 3, among other things. Read More »

Briefly: Hollywood is the sort of place where a TV series that fails before it even hits the air can lead to a new movie. Paramount spent years developing a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie — the series starring Eddie Murphy last hit screens with a third film in 1994 — but that effort eventually stalled out. A TV pilot came into being instead, starring Brandon T. Jackson as the son of Murphy’s title character, with Murphy playing a small supporting role.

Last week, we heard that series wouldn’t go forward. CBS, which ordered the show’s pilot, decided not to pick it up, and efforts to shop it to another network failed. But Paramount liked both the interest in the pilot and the scenes Murphy shot for it. So now a film isn’t just back in development but, according to Deadline, Paramount is “moving fast” with Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) scripting. At this point it sounds like Murphy would again star; no word if any ideas from the pilot will be incorporated into the movie, or if Jackson will have a role.

For going on 40 years, the phrase “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” has been a cornerstone of American pop culture. The phrase announces every single episode of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, which has been the breeding ground for such legendary comedians and actors as Jim Belushi, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell and so many others.

Week after week, some of the funniest people in the world create a live comedy show and broadcast it to millions. It’s a hit-or-miss effort that has produced incredible highs, disappointing lows and everything in between. After almost 40 years though, the show has been so consistently influential, we tend to take its existence for granted.

When you think back on all the good memories it’s hard not to get nostalgic. Wayne’s World. The Land Shark. Coneheads. Celebrity Jeopardy. Stefon. The list goes on and on, which is why Gallery 1988 West, the newest location of Los Angeles’ landmark pop culture art gallery, chose SNL as the subject of its latest exhibit.

After the jump, check out a small sample of the work in the show and find out more. Read More »